


Unfamiliar Customs

by KingHippiedude (missreader)



Series: Hanukkah 5777 [1]
Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Chanukah, Gen, Jewish Character, Jewish Holidays, Ktavnukkah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 05:14:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9057076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missreader/pseuds/KingHippiedude
Summary: Will, Horace, and Halt meet a young woman with unfamiliar customs they have never encountered before.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Day1 : Miracles  
> For the Ktavnukkah Hanukkah-themed writing challenge. A little late. Oops.

Will, Horace, and Halt accompanied Rebecca - the young woman they had just rescued from a group of thieves - back to her home, and when they arrived, she insisted that they stay for dinner. The offer of food meant they didn’t need much more convincing, and Will even offered to help in the kitchen. Soon the smell of frying potatoes and vegetable stew permeated the air.

As the stew was cooking, Rebecca set the table. She pulled out an odd looking candelabra with nine branches. And she placed just two candles in it.

“What is that?” Horace asked.

“It’s a chanukiah. Tonight is the first night of Chanukah. It’s a Jewish -”

“Jewish? I’ve never heard that word.” Will cut in.

“It is the name for my people. The people of Israel who worship the one God. Chanukah is one of our holidays. It celebrates the rededication of the temple and the miracle which allowed the eternal flame in the temple to be sustained for eight days on only a single day’s supply of oil - just long enough for more oil to be found… And tonight I have my own miracle. I believed I was going to die at the hands of those thieves, but you rescued me and brought me safely home.”

“Why are there only two candles?” Horace inquired.

“The candle in the middle is the _shamash_ \- the helper candle - that is used to light the other candles. On the first night we only light one candle with it, and on each subsequent night we light an additional candle. On the final night, we light eight candles in addition to the shamash.” There was a brief pause, then Rebecca continued, “I believe the food is ready. Let us eat.”

Once they had all sat down with bowls of stew and some of the potato pancakes that Rebecca had called _latkes_ , she lit the shamash and used it to light the other candle, singing in a foreign tongue that none of the men were familiar with.

_"Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech haolam, shehecheyanu, v'kiy'manu, v'higianu laz'man hazeh."_


End file.
